Saturday, January 11, 2014

Table Talk for Play #3

Have you ever had a fight at a funeral? Or a family
disagreement over the will?

The cast of Maggie’s
Funeral sits around the table and shares personal stories about how they
can relate to Josef Krebs' script.

Then, armed with these thoughts, they have another go at the dialogue.
Buried resentments and raised voices fill the Allen Lobby. “Let’s really let it
rip!” says director Shawn Belyea.

I’m so very interested in this process. It’s 12:30pm and the
cast is still sitting down. “For that line, you could be at the casket,” Belyea
suggests to Dave Clapper. But no blocking, no movement on their feet. Belyea is
an experienced 14/48 director, and perhaps laying this solid base of tablework
is something learned from years of practice.

“I don’t think the movement is going to be too tough for you
guys, I think it will be pretty natural,” he says, as they continue working
through the script. Such meticulous study will definitely make this a strong
performance, that’s for sure.